


a type of sweet wine

by umitsuki



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Blood Drinking, M/M, Mild Blood, Mostly Fluff, Vamp Jun, Vampires, mingyu is technically a character, theyre friends mostly i think, throwback to Intouchable jun, unless...??, vague ritual, witch hao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27373975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umitsuki/pseuds/umitsuki
Summary: junhui the vampire asks minghao for a favor.(when minghao refers to him as a vampire, he uses that term liberally because the guy can't even stomach fresh blood.well, with one exception.)
Relationships: Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 5
Kudos: 72





	a type of sweet wine

**Author's Note:**

> uhh happy belated halloween?

When Minghao is busy filling another page of his notebook with a raven’s quill, his dog runs in panting loudly.

“Is someone at the door?” the witch inquires, pen continuing to scribble away. The dog—technically a familiar and technically an adolescent wolf, not a dog—barks cheerfully. Bells on his golden collar jingle as he hops over to his owner’s desk, headbutting the young man’s leg. Minghao smiles and pets the canine. “Alright, Mingyu. Good boy.”

At the same time he gets up from his chair, Minghao lifts his hand and does a beckoning motion with his pointer finger at his broomstick, currently resting against the wall. The broomstick responds by lifting off the wooden floor and flying to Minghao. It then repositions itself sideways, ready for Minghao to take a sideways seat. 

Once he does, the broomstick begins to travel to the staircase. Minghao’s home is actually a very tall tower with one spiral staircase connecting every floor. He never bothered to memorize the exact number of floors the tower has, but his guess is there’s a little less than thirty.

His study room, the one place he spends most of his waking hours at, is found near the top, while the floors for essential living are all at or near the ground floor. One could only imagine the amount of climbing and descending would be needed just to get through one day, which is where his trusty broomstick comes in. 

His broomstick is a bit fancier than the average witch’s, having intricately designed symbols and ornaments. A particular gold engraving is in the dark oak material, that being the signature of renowned elf craftsmith and Minghao’s long time best friend, Lee Seokmin. Mingyu’s collar was crafted by the same elf as well. Both were gifts he received on his birthdays.

While the broomstick zooms down the staircase, Minghao swiftly picks up a textbook he had left lying open on a table at the twentieth floor, skimming through the pages to see what exactly was he trying to research. There’s a chance the book has been sitting there for weeks, even months from the sheer number of stuff littered around the tower. ( _Hm. Not sure why I decided to read up on necromancy._ ) Mingyu is running behind the witch and, being the incredibly fast animal he is, has no issue catching up.

Minghao thanks his broom when it lets him off gently. His hands grab at the edges of his coat, tugging it close to himself. He wonders who it could be—he rarely gets visitors, especially not around noon—just to be met with the apologetic smile on a familiar vampire’s face.

“Junhui?” Minghao blinks. “What’s the matter?”

The vampire coughs purposefully. His eyes travel all around the place, a sure sign that there’s something on his mind bothering him. As per usual, his auburn locks are tossed over one half of his head. He’s always dressed in all black clothing, though most of the time they’re casual outfits rather than the typical suits. Minghao has never had trouble finding him in a large crowd or deep in the forest, since he’s quite tall and broad compared to other vamps. 

And, of course, the silly expressions Junhui likes to make. Minghao could tell from the first time they met at a local witch’s festival that this guy is childish, bubbly, maybe too much for his own good. It isn’t often that Junhui appears as solemn and nervous as he does, therefore becoming a subject of concern for the witch.

“I need your help,” says Junhui, unable to stand still.

“Come in first.” 

Junhui doesn’t normally come directly to Minghao to ask for help. Junhui and his coven live deep in the inland forest, whereas Minghao’s tower is near a port city. If the vampire has traveled all the way to the coast, whatever he needs assistance with must be important.

Inside the tower—the ground floor is a large living room, spacious enough to hold witch parties he likes to host occasionally—Mingyu dashes to Junhui, jumping up to lick his face excitedly. The familiar has met the vampire hundreds of times by now.

“Well, what is it?” asks the witch. Junhui is reluctant and doesn’t answer immediately, so Minghao steps closer to him and grasps onto the larger hand. “Is everything okay?” His voice is gentler the second time around.

“How do I… be a better vampire?”

Minghao’s brain does not fully process the question until a couple seconds later. His golden eyes, enlarged, blink rapidly in utter confusion.

“Junhui, did you… come all the way over here to ask me, _a witch,_ that question?” An exasperated sigh slips past Minghao’ lips. All the vampire does is look at the shorter figure with a helpless gaze. 

“I’ve tried everything, Hao. Any sort of animal I can get my hands on, asking some of my friends to volunteer—someone even brought me a human on the verge of death. Nothing is working and I don’t know what to do…”

Junhui’s hand grips tightly on Minghao’s.

Of course, as close friends, Junhui has confided in the witch many times so far, the main issue being him and his inability to drink blood fresh from a living specimen. Somehow, he’s managed to keep it a secret from his coven members—in fact, only Minghao and a few other non-vampire friends have knowledge of this—since he has a whole system setup for getting chilled, packaged blood delivered to him. Junhui’s vampire buddies only see it as him preferring the cold blood and as a pacifist who doesn’t prefer to hunt for fresh meat.

“I’m not a real vampire this way,” Junhui says sadly, the usual light and joy in his face nowhere to be found. Minghao hates seeing him this way but it’s not like there’s much he can do for him, either. This is purely a problem with Junhui and his tongue’s strange disdain for warm, fresh out of the body blood. And judging from how this has always been an issue since he was little, Minghao doubts it can get any better. 

“Is that important?” Minghao puffs out his cheeks as he tries scolding Junhui and his self-deprecating behavior. The one thing he hates most is listening to his friends put themselves down for things only they seem to worry about. “‘Real’ vampire or not, you’re still Wen Junhui, correct?”

The vampire nods slowly. “Uh-huh…”

Minghao gives him a comforting pat on the arm. “Then that’s all that matters.”

Junhui does a half-grin. It’s true, what Minghao’s saying. He only cares so much about his shortcomings as a vampire because he knows his community will belittle him for it. Otherwise, he’s content living as Just a Guy—with his witch friend at his side, of course. 

Life has been something completely different ever since he met Xu Minghao. 

“Yeah.” A sigh. Although Minghao does help a lot with his reassuring words and gentle touches, Junhui remains unnerved about something. He licks his lips anxiously, and the other’s sharp eyes notice this. “But, um…”

“Hm?” Innocently, Minghao gazes, his hand fixed on his friend’s hand.

It takes a bit for Junhui to swallow his spit and move his lips.

“Jeonghan, he… he wants me to do the honors in the upcoming Feast and I can’t back out of it.”

Oh, god. 

The color drains from Minghao’s already pale face; his hand loses its grip on Junhui’s upon hearing the news. 

“You… You’re serious?”

Somberly, the vampire nods. Minghao curses under his breath. 

_The Feast._ A special annual event where all sorts of creatures gather and have, as the name implies, a large feast. Before and during the meal, each community presents their own traditional performances or rituals. 

And for the vampires, said ritual is drinking the blood of a human sacrifice in front of a full audience.

“Jun…” The witch now fully understands the reason behind Junhui’s unease. Who wouldn’t be? He’s doomed to either confess to his leader Jeonghan that he can’t drink blood unless it’s chilled, or humiliate himself in front of a room full of prestigious, otherworldly creatures. Both options are likely to cause Junhui to embarrass himself and infuriate Jeonghan.

“Yeah… I know,” Junhui mumbles. He averts his gaze, unable to look back at Minghao’s eyes flickering in worry. His fingers idly fumble around.

Eyebrows drooping, Minghao stammers slightly before he manages to speak. “What are you gonna do?”

“Well, I…” He clears his throat. “I was wondering maybe you could…”

A silent pause, then comes realization.

“No… _No,_ ” Minghao quite strongly refuses, shaking his head. “I _cannot_ do that. That’s—no, that’s insane.”

_(“Shit.”_

_Junhui hears Minghao cursing from the kitchen._

_“What’s wrong?” asks the vampire, walking in to see Minghao clutching his bleeding hand._

_“Cut myself,” he mutters after placing the knife down carefully. He stops for a second, glancing over to Junhui. “Wanna taste?”_

_“Do I wanna… huh?”_

_“This. Wanna try some?” He shows Junhui his hand with a shallow cut near the thumb. With his uninjured hand, he catches the couple of drops that glide down his hand and fall. “It’s warm, I know. But it can’t be that bad, can it?”_

_Junhui grabs the thin wrist and brings him close to himself. His nose sniffs at the faint aroma spilling through Minghao’s wound. Reminds him of berries._

_“Smells nice…” Junhui mutters, eyelids falling. Raising the wound up to his lips, he gently licks off the trail of blood. Minghao shudders, and Junhui inhales deeply, shakily._

_“...Is it bad?”_

_“No. It tastes like… really sweet wine.”)_

“Please,” despite Minghao’s refusal, the brunette begs anyway, “You’re my only hope. I promise I’ll do anything for you in return. I—I can do lots of hunting for you, too!” Minghao still appears unsure. “Look, I’ll even go to the graveyard city and to get you bones, any type of bones you want!”

The witch is contemplating thoroughly.

“...You promise to get me some eyes, too?”

In not even a second, Junhui jumps on the offer, nodding enthusiastically with his eyes sparkling.

“Eyes, tongues, brains, everything! It’ll be all yours; you know I don’t break promises, Minghao.”

Minghao sighs loudly. “Fine,” he finally says. Despite being known for his unbreakable will, it doesn’t take long for Junhui’s puppy-eyed pleas to convince him. And he truly never breaks his promises, either.

Junhui is _so_ happy that his arms throw themselves around Minghao’s smaller frame and wrap around his shoulders, squeezing him tight in a warm embrace (well, as warm as being hugged by an undead guy can get). Though he can barely breathe, he’s always thought it feels nice when Junhui and his broad torso holds him close like this. It’s comforting, like the vampire is his home.

“I can’t thank you enough!” Much to Minghao’s displeasure, Junhui lovingly rubs the side of his face against the witch’s cheek. With his frailer arms, he tries backing away to some degree.

Minghao clears his throat as well as crosses his arms over his chest. The tips of his ears have gotten pink ever since Junhui brought him into his arms. He plays it off by acting like his usual cool self. “I really hope you have some sort of plan if we’re actually gonna do this.”

“Don’t worry.” Smiling, Junhui brushes a part of Minghao’s long, black locks behind his ear. “I’ve got it all planned. Plus, you’re a genius so you can save our asses when it comes to that.”

Out of a sudden buildup in shyness, Minghao punches his friend’s arm playfully. “Shut up. I’ll shove raw garlic down your throat.”

“Welcome, Yoon Jeonghan and esteemed coven.”

The manor’s welcoming hall is filled with guests who intend on participating in the Feast tonight, Jeonghan’s coven with Junhui included. The place is gorgeous—owned by a ridiculously wealthy dark elf who goes by the name Hoshi—and Minghao is unable to enjoy any of the pre-feast festivities due to his nervousness.

Then again, he _is_ supposed to be a human sacrifice. Though, of course, Minghao wouldn’t die as easily as a human would from a vampire’s bite, nor would Junhui drink enough for that to ever happen. 

In order to get past the observant eyes of Jeonghan, Minghao had to look the part of sacrificial lamb. He wears pitch black robes that drags behind himself and to conceal his face, a thick black lace veil. After traveling for nearly an hour inside a single-person carriage, Minghao’s feeling rather tired already. The coven members lead him, one vampire holding each of his hands. Dressed in a long, gothic tailcoat with an extra lace cape on top, Junhui leads the group escorting Minghao.

Inside, an elf butler informs Jeonghan that the private room for the human and ritual performer is prepared, so he signals for Junhui to follow the butler there. He complies with a quiet nod and the two break away from the rest of the vampires, Minghao’s hand atop Junhui’s. 

They reach their guest room after walking down a long hallway. The butler leaves and closes the door behind him to give them privacy, at which point Minghao sighs loudly and pulls the veil over his face. 

“Why is this actually kind of hard to breathe in?” Minghao annoyedly exclaims, flopping down on the bed. “This thing is so hard to walk in, too.” He sits up and points furiously at his feet. “Do you know how hard I had to concentrate just so I wouldn’t trip over myself? Oh, and don’t even get me _started_ on the trip here. You saw that carriage, right?”

“Minghao, please.” Junhui walks over to the bed and sits besides the grumbling witch, placing his arm over his shoulders. “Just breathe and relax right now. It’ll be over before you realize it.”

“You seriously owe me a lot,” says Minghao with a huff, leaning his head against the other’s shoulder. 

“I’ll definitely make it up to you.”

Minghao reaches over for Junhui’s hand. In times like these, holding his hand and reminding himself that he’s got someone who cares helps a lot. “Will it hurt?”

Junhui hesitates. “I’ll try to make it gentle but… that’s the one thing I can’t promise you. My fangs, they’re sharp.”

“I know. Stupid question.” 

“Hey.” Turning his head to him, Junhui carefully places his palm on the side of Minghao’s face, caressing him and his soft skin. For a moment, Minghao’s expression blinks in surprise and panic, but he just lets it happen and leans into the touch, his face growing red. Junhui knows what Minghao is thinking of. “Don’t say that. This is scary, I totally get it. But you know I won’t hurt you like that, right?”

Minghao gulps. “Yeah,” he whispers. “This is different. You’re different.”

Junhui plants a kiss on Minghao’s forehead. Neither of them say much, simply sitting on the bed and sharing each other’s warmth, not until the butler knocks on the door and informs them it’s almost time. 

Minghao fixes his veil to cover his face once more. They nod at each other and emerge out of the room, hand in hand.

Outside, the waiting butler leads them to a path around the dining hall where the Feast is to take place in. The dining hall is a massive room, enough to fit numerous elongated tables as well as a small, elevated stage at the very back for performances. The order in which the groups perform is different every year; this time around, it just so happens that they’re going first.

The butler takes them to the backstage area. There in the dark spaces, fellow coven members have been preparing and setting props necessary. As part of the ritual, the vampires will begin by laying out candles and drawing a ritualistic circle for the sacrifice to stand in the middle of. A few of them wish Junhui good luck, who merely nods and smiles as per usual. 

The awfully loud and energetic voice of Hoshi, the host for this year’s Feast, is perfectly audible even in the back of the stage behind the thick curtains. Minghao gulps as he goes over to the stage on standby, positioned in the center of the circle and candles. He knows Hoshi personally too—awkward wouldn’t suffice to describe the situation he’d be in if Hoshi recognizes him somehow.

Finally, after a speech that sounded like it stretched for half an hour, the curtains are drawn. The entire dining hall’s lighting is dim and the audience is hushed. Thankfully for Minghao, the dark lighting plus the black veil makes it so he can barely see anyone. The last thing he’d want is to face a familiar werewolf he met back in high school or something.

Minghao knows what he needs to do. He just has to stand still, hold his hands together as though he’s praying, and wait for Junhui to join him on stage. The atmosphere is chilly, silent, pressuring—he can feel the eyes of all sorts of creatures staring right at him. 

It’s nerve-wracking. His legs might give in any second and he could collapse right then and there. If so, he could probably play dead. A human with a weak heart who dies from fear, except that scenario isn’t sounding too unrealistic.

Junhui’s sharp footsteps break the silence. As he slowly walks by and starts revolving around Minghao, the candles light up one by one. The heat of the flames are a subtle touch against Minghao’s faintly shaking ankles. He prays, please, get this over with already.

Junhui takes a couple more strolls around the circle before Minghao realizes he feels his hands reach for his neck. So it’s starting.

There is little to no space between Minghao and Junhui’s body, the latter standing behind him while also facing the audience. His hands work cautiously, tenderly, pulling aside just a little bit of the black veil. Against the all black attire and dark background, the pale skin of Minghao’s neck stands out.

Minghao sucks in a breath, audible enough for Junhui to hear but not anyone else. The vampire’s fingertips brush against his neck when the veil is moved away. Physically, they’re icy cold fingers. But Junhui’s touch has never failed to be warm on Minghao, helping him feel safe. And they still do, even in this event.

Junhui leans his head over to get a good angle for his fangs. Minghao knows it’s coming soon and he dreads it so much, so much so that he whimpers a bit.

“Count to three,” the vampire whispers into his ear. Minghao nods and does so in his head. One, two—

Junhui sinks his teeth into the pale neck. The pain is, just as he expected, intense and he almost yelps out, but he remembers being advised to stay generally quiet and shuts himself up by biting on his lower lip. 

Minghao gets no break after the teeth pierce his skin. Next comes the blood sucking, done through Junhui’s fangs that function like straws. The sensation of having one’s blood drained so rapidly is like nothing other, the witch thinks. It keeps hurting until it doesn’t anymore; at some point in the process, it feels nice. Relaxing. Like a strong pain killing potion had kicked in and is pumping through his vessels.

Junhui’s hands never leave Minghao’s body. One is helping his neck stay up, the other on his waist. It’s as if Junhui is telling him with body language that he’s there to support him and will catch him no matter what. Even in the midst of having his blood continuously pulled out of his system, Minghao is glad that Junhui is the one holding him.

_Sweet wine._

It’s just as delicious—no, even better—from when Junhui remembers first having Minghao’s blood. The rush that the fragrance of berries and its sweet taste gave him that day was just like drinking a stomach full of wine, euphoric and heavenly. 

Now that he’s drinking cups of that same sweet berry goodness, he’s experiencing a sort of raw vampire joy. He had never drank this much from one live person before; everyone else he attempted it on had a taste comparable to that of a rotten fish. Barf-inducing. But Minghao offers him a liquor fit for the gods, one that gives a kick to his previously subdued vampire instincts. 

He wants more, he needs more, but he thinks of Minghao first and foremost.

“Jun…” he hoarsely whispers.

He pulls his fangs away not soon after Minghao’s body becomes faint and begins to collapse.

Of course, Junhui is prepared to catch him. His hand on the waist becomes a saving arm over his back, breaking his fall. Junhui himself has to get on one knee in order to match his height with Minghao. 

He takes a glimpse at Minghao’s face. He’s not exactly unconscious, though his eyes are drowsy and his lips are apart, murmuring something.

Junhui turns back to the crowd. They’re all watching with flat expressions, having seen the same thing happen again and again for hundreds of years. Junhui thinks it’s funny how this is the most exciting moment of his life, an epiphany of sorts, yet it’s also simply another routine for everyone watching.

Junhui bows with his head to signify the end of the ritual. Simultaneously, the curtains fall and the crowd begins applauding. Before anyone can approach him and congratulate him on the performance, he picks up Minghao and travels to the nearest door that leads to the cold night outside.

“Ah, Junhui…” Minghao mutters here and there along with soft groans. He grips on the vampire’s shirt with one of his hands. ‘Shh,’ he tells the witch, making his way over to a grassy area near the forest that surrounds the manor. They’re both more comfortable out in nature, away from the bright lights and chattering folks. Just the two of them under the moonlight, resting amongst the trees.

Slowly, Junhui lowers himself along with Minghao in his arms to the soft grass, letting his tired upper body rest in his lap. His arm under Minghao’s torso has yet to budge; it remains in that spot, giving him a slight incline. He takes the veil off from the other’s head, tossing it to the side.

“I’m sorry.” The brunette sighs. “I got carried away. Your blood, it just—”

“It’s alright,” Minghao hums. The drowsiness is still in his eyes, which are barely able to open halfway and blink at the handsome vampire staring down at him with concern. Suddenly, he lifts his arms and opens them up for Junhui. He wants a hug, and a hug he gets.

Leaning forward, Minghao hooks his arms around Junhui’s neck and gives him the hug in that pose. Junhui breathes in and out slowly; with his neck so close to his face, he gets to savor more of that sweet berry scent before it’s gone again. 

After they share the embrace, they part from each other. Junhui finds himself gently brushing his fingers at the two little puncture wounds that now marrs Minghao’s pretty neck. They’re fresh wounds, so Minghao flinches slightly at the cold touch. Junhui bends forward to give his neck a gentle kiss. 

“I’m really sorry I had to do this to you,” Junhui murmurs, gazing at his bite marks ruefully. “Thank you. For your help, I mean… and your blood, kind of.”

Minghao weaky laughs. “I don’t do this for just anyone.” He narrows his gold eyes at Junhui and smirks. “You’re lucky that I’m one of the best witches out there. And that you’re cute.”

This makes Junhui break out into soft chuckles. “There’s no one else I would go to, Minghao.”

“Mn.” Minghao raises his finger up in order to poke Junhui in the cheek. Once that’s done, his arm flops back down and an extended exhale comes out. “Can we go back to my place now? I need to take a shower.”

He frowns. “But the Feast…”

“I have chilled cocktails that I forgot to tell you about.”

“Let’s get out of here.

Minghao can’t help but giggle. Junhui helps him get up on his feet, pulling him from the ground by hand. As Minghao regains his balance and the strength in his legs, he clears his throat. “Hey, Jun?” he hesitantly asks.

“Yes?”

Junhui wonders why Minghao’s face is suddenly so flushed.

“You, um… could drink more often. I kinda liked it.”


End file.
